Science Project
Science Project was the second of two stories printed within Issue 2 of Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines printed by IDW Publishing in 2015. In Japan, it was published by Takarajimasha, both in the Back to the Future: Untold Tales trade paperback and for a limited time as a webcomic that was viewable on Takarajimasha's website. It told the story of how Dr. Emmett Brown bought the DeLorean DMC-12 that would become the DeLorean time machine. Publisher's Summary GREAT SCOTT! The past present and future come crashing together as only BACK TO THE FUTURE can do it! Secrets between the McFly family and Doc Brown are revealed... and what happens to the inventions that don't quite work as planned? All thanks to the guiding hand of BTTF co-creator Bob Gale and co.! Plot In September 1984, Marty is in Doc's garage looking through boxes of inventions and pulls out a pair of eye drop glasses, which Doc invented to make using eye drops easier for jittery people. Doc enters the lab with Einstein, carrying a book by Jules Verne, surprised to see Marty there It had been a busy week, and he hadn't expected him that day. Marty tells Doc that he had been busy with band practice and he has a science project due the next day. He was hoping that Doc had something that he could use. Doc tells him that he's not going to do his work for him, but says that he's free to borrow anything that he finds in the lab. He tells him that he doubts he'll find anything useful, but he's welcome to look. While Marty is looking, Doc begins twisting wire around a metal bar. Marty finds a life sized statue of Neptune, which Doc says he picked up for a giant fish tank that he never got around to building. Around the statue's neck is a umbrella necktie, which Marty doubts will impress his teacher, Mrs. Zawadski. Marty then picks up an electric hoe and a car battery. Doc tells him that it's perfect for weeding, but since it uses a lot of power, the user has to wear the battery. Marty puts the battery on the floor and asks Doc what he is doing with the wire. Doc tells him that he is disentangling it, which he finds relaxing. Marty pricks his hand on a barbed alarm clock, which he guesses is barbed to prevent someone from hitting the snooze button. After Marty puts on Mr. Sneeze, a wearable tissue dispenser on his head, Marty asks Doc for a tip on what he is looking for, which Doc said would defeat the point, as the essence of science is discovery. At that point, the alarm goes off, Einstein jumps on Doc, and the wire wrapped around the metal bar falls on the battery. It begins to attract tools lying nearby, and Marty realizes it is an electromagnet. Doc begins to tell Marty that magnetism and electricity were thought to be two separate things until Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. However, Marty interrupts him and asks if he can borrow them for his school project. Marty leaves Doc's garage, and Doc tells him that he'll see him on Thursday, and reminds him to bring a case of oil when he arrives. Just then the telephone rings, and Doc rushes back in the garage to answer it. He tells the caller that he is very interested, and asks when he can stop by to get a look. A clipping from the Hill Valley Telegraph from August 11, 1984 is hung on Doc's bulletin board, with a circled classified ad by a man named Robert advertising a used DeLorean DMC-12, needing significant work. Above that is a clipping from an ad by a man named John, advertising a non-functional pinball machine, which is great for parts. Also on the board are classified ads from Robin, advertising a Ferrari 308 GTS; and Professor B.O. Beanes, advertising a large collection of vintage books as part of an estate sale. A flyer for Kruge's Pest Control is also displayed. Behind the scenes *An electromagnet was the first experiment conducted by Bill Nye in the first episode of Back to the Future: The Animated Series. *The statue of Neptune resembles the statue from the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, suggesting that Doc might have purchased the statue from Hill Valley High School after the dance concluded. *The Robert who is advertising the used DeLorean in the Hill Valley Telegraph is an in-joke reference to Robert Zemeckis, the director of the Back to the Future trilogy. Appearances * Mrs. Zawadski |creatures= *Dog |locations= * Doc's garage |organizations= *Hill Valley Telegraph |vehicles= *DeLorean time machine |technology= *Eye drop glasses *Umbrella necktie *Electric hoe *Car battery *Barbed alarm clock *Mr. Sneeze *Electromagnet *Pinball |miscellanea= *Neptune statue *September 1984 *August 11, 1984 }} Category:Comic stories